Health

When Alex Baddock’s kidneys failed, his mother did what most parents would do and donated one of hers. But he had to wait until he was three for a transplant, meaning he spent much of his early life on dialysis and needing overnight care. Simply living a normal life was the aim and now, nine years on, 12-year-old Alex and ...

More than a billion people globally are now considered obese, a condition linked to an increased risk of numerous serious health problems, according to updated estimates from the World Health Organization and an international group of researchers, reports Reuters. Obesity is so prevalent it has become more common than being underweight in most nations, including many low and-middle income countries ...

More than one billion people around the world are now suffering from obesity with the number having more than quadrupled since 1990, according to a study released by the Lancet medical journal. The “epidemic” is particularly hitting poorer countries and the rate is growing among children and adolescents faster than adults, according to the study carried out with the World ...

There is one hospital bed at the public and private hospitals in the country against every 990 patients, Health and Family Welfare Minister Samanta Lal Sen told parliament on Thursday. He said that the total number of beds in the government hospitals are 71,660 while private hospitals are 99,975. The minister said the number of beds for every 50 people ...

Mindfulness, group and cognitive behavioural therapy could effectively treat menopause symptoms such as low mood and anxiety, analysis suggests. The University College London research, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, examined 30 studies involving 3,500 women in 14 countries, including the UK, the US and Australia. Draft NHS guidelines recommend offering CBT alongside or instead of HRT. It could “give ...

The government is considering announcing a new tax on vapes at the Budget next week. Currently, vaping products are subject to VAT – but unlike tobacco, they are not also subject to a dedicated levy. Tobacco duty could also increase at the Budget, to ensure that vaping remains cheaper. Ministers fear that the relatively cheap cost of vaping means that ...

“Advances in Medical Science, Research and Innovation in the 21st Century” conference was held at the InterContinental Dhaka on Monday. The event, a collaborative effort by the Bangladesh Private Medical College Association (BPMCA) and Tafida Raqeeb Foundation, witnessed the convergence of over 50 distinguished doctors from Europe and the UK with their Bangladeshi counterparts. Participants praised the effort to bring ...

A drug long used to treat asthma can help protect people from dangerous — even fatal — food allergies, a study published Sunday in the respected New England Journal of Medicine found. The randomized study, funded partly by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, tested the drug Xolair (chemical name omalizumab) on 118 children known to be allergic ...

Health and Family Welfare Minister Samanta Lal Sen has said zero tolerance policy will be followed for child deaths due to negligence of hospital authorities and doctors. He also said raids to supervise the management of hospitals across the country will begin from February 27. The minister said this campaign is not only against private hospitals, but against any hospital ...

Can cotton candy give you cancer? Some Indian states think so and have banned the sale of the pink, wispy, sugary-sweet treat. Last week, the southern state of Tamil Nadu implemented the ban after lab tests confirmed the presence of a cancer-causing substance, Rhodamine-B, in samples sent for testing. Earlier this month, the union territory of Puducherry banned the sweet treat while ...